South of France, Barcelona, Pelvis Pain and a Dead Dog...

My last night in Rome was a lot of fun - ended up staying up till silly-o'clock drinking with Ash, Dom, Diego, Adam and a group of boys from Liverpool (turns out I have the same sense of humour as a 19 year old boy. obviously).

Head off on a late afternoon train bound for Nice, which stops at Genova for a few hours - another not-so-blissful attempt at sleeping in the train station. At 5 am I decide I need a chocolate fix (sleep is overrated!) and a cute old man buys it for me. I must look homeless.

Arrive in Nice around 10 the next day, having had to fend off an inappropriate Frenchman who keeps stroking my leg (a swift slap soon puts a stop to this...), and find a hostel close to the train station. I check in early, meet my German roommates Max and Mark (hilarious doesn't even describe these boys!) and head down to the beach to laze/sunbathe/sleep/read. After a few hours baking in the heat, I head to an Art Museum, then back to the hostel. Bizarrely, I find out that Lorraine Edgar - a university friend - is in Monaco and will be visiting Nice this week, so we arrange to meet up. Barely any use at meeting up with her in Scotland, so an impromptu hook-up in the South of France is going to be strange...

We have a lovely afternoon, sitting in a bar by the ocean, drinking carafes of red wine in the sun. Total bliss.

Over the next few days, myself, Max and Mark hang out a lot, going to the beach, a day trip to Cannes to visit their friend, lots of trips to the supermarket for booze, and midnight walks to take picture of Nice by night. Had such a relaxing time in the South of France - albeit expensive - but spending most of my time at the beach or drinking has been a welcome change from the craziness of Rome.

Next (and sadly last) stop is Barcelona. I am down to my last 30 euros, and anticipate that this is going to be difficult. 2 days and 3 nights in Barcelona on 30 euros. Can it be done?

Arrive late to my hostel, near the Sagrada Familia, and head straight for a shower and bed, ready for an action-packed day of exploring. Get up at 7 am (I know!) and head off, though I'm so unbelievably tired and confused that I walk smack-bang in to a metal bollard, which just happens to be at front-bum-height. Cue agonising pain, breathlessness and total and utter embarrassment. Find the nearest cafe/bar to inspect the damage (ironically called Bar Fanny...) and am horrified to discover extensive pelvic cuts and bruising. Ability to bear children rapidly depleting...

Mange to get my act together and see a most of Barcelona - cathedrals, churches, markets, parks, Gaudi architecture, and (my personal highlight), a dead dog being eaten by bluebottles... Mega efficient day.

And I still have money left.....here's hoping I can afford to eat/drink for the rest of my stay...

A Whistle-stop tour around Zagreb, Venice and Rome......

The rest of my time in Zagreb is pretty peaceful (minimal alcohol and lots of sleep), and I even manage to squeeze in a trip away for the day to Ljubljana, before catching a late night train to Venice.

Arrive in Venice at 7.30 am and look distinctly like a burst couch. Another uncomfortable "sleep" on an overnight train, with a surprise 3 hour stopover in Trieste listening the the woman in the waiting room snoring. Money is a critical levels (ie I aint got none) and I have to wait until 10 am until Western Union opens. Eugh. So, knackered, disgruntled and disheveled, I spend the morning wandering around a very grey and very wet Venice. Bump into a Australian couple that I met in a hostel in Berlin (bizarre!) and they tell me about a little shop that sells litres of any-wine-you-want for dirt cheap. Sold! Find it fairly easily, and at the grand old time of 8.30am, purchase 2 litres of Cabernet Sauvignon (decanted in to old squash bottles) for 3 euros 60. For later, of course...

Spend the day taking in the sights, (the piazzas, canals, shops, Jewish quarter, cathedrals) but decide to leave for Rome that night. Venice is REALLY expensive, and the weather is dire, so heading south for some sunshine. Despite that, it really is a beautiful and intriguing city. Though, the canals, sadly, smell/look about as clean as the Clyde after a rough weekend in Glasgow. Not exactly the stuff of epic poetry.

Head off on the train Rome, and luckily this should only take 5 hours or so. The journey is fine, and arrive at my hostel at about 8pm. It's in a more residential area of town, and this proves to to be miles cheaper to stay and go out than central Rome.

Spend the day night drinking with Ash and Dom, a guy and a girl from the UK who had been in Europe for Eurovision and decided to keep exploring. Naturally, out comes the Venice wine, and I arse a bottle of that, along with a bag of crisps. Nutritious dinner.

Crash out fairly late, but still manage an early start, and head out exploring about 11 am. It's a beautifully sunny day, and I end up walking around for hours and hours. Armed with a map, I start my own mini walking-tour of Rome. Manage to visit the Colosseum, the Forum and Palantine Hill,(man dressed as Gladiator asked me out for a drink here; had to refuse due to how RIDICULOUS he looked) the Vatican and St Peters Basilica, the Trevi Fountain, Piazza Novona and finally the Spanish Steps. Totally action-packed day, all of which was incredible. Round every single corner, Rome has something completely unique and breathtaking to offer.

Head out that night with Ash, Dom and a few others from our hostel, and find a nice little studenty bar/piazza to drink in. Drinks outside on a balmy Italian night. Perfect. Next day I go for coffee with Diego (a beautiful-but-sadly-gay) Mexican guy who I'm sharing a dorm with. We then head our separate ways, and I book my tickets to Nice (overnight, includes a lovely 5 hours stuck in Genova...) then head up to the Villa Borghese gardens. It's incredibly peaceful, non-touristy and ideal for sunbathing Views over the city are magical.

Decide to take another walk around the Spanish Steps area, when a rather handsome Italian man stops and asks me out for an afternoon drink. YES PLEASE. He has to return to work briefly, so I agree to meet him at the Pantheon in 40 minutes from now.

...40 minutes pass and I arrive at the Pantheon - i.e the stupidest place to arrange to meet someone. There are literally thousands of people there, talking photos and generally being tourist. Needless to say, we don't find each other, and I soon give up and head back to the hostel. Have had a brilliant time in Rome, but am looking forward to getting to the South of France and lazing on the beach for a few days....